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PRE-WRITING WORKSHEET

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Writers who publish special feature articles conduct research about their topic by using various resources, including print and Internet publications and interviews with people. They select information from these resources based on a specific topic and the intended purpose and audience for their article. Answer the questions below to help you select information from the resources you are using to write your article.

What is your specific topic?

What is the purpose of your article?

Describe your intended audience.

Keep a notebook of the information you acquire for your article. For each resource you use to obtain information, keep the following notes in your notebook.

1.

Identify the resource: title, author, group the author represents; name of person interviewed and group the interviewee represents.

This will enable you can give credit to a passage for which you want to provide authoritative comment. (e.g., According to _____, of the ______, most people ….)

2.

Take notes from resources, using your own words, or for passages you want to quote directly, put them in quotes and identify the source.

3.

For each type of information you collect, explain briefly how it will help you achieve the purpose of your article.

4.

After you are finished gathering information, go back through your notes and identify what information (place the corresponding letter above your notes):

      (a) will help you write your lead
      (b) will help you write your introductory paragraph
      (c) will provide information for the body of the article
      (d) will help you write your conclusion

After doing this, you should be ready to construct an outline of your article, including topic sentences for each paragraph.